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If you’ve ever had to lay concrete in the cold, then you can attest to the fact that it doesn’t set up as fast as it aught too. Actually, inclement weather can delay the curing of concrete considerably.

The Cure

When it comes to curing concrete, the optimal temperature is easy to obtain most of the time…if it’s summer. But what about all the other months of the year? What do you do when winter rolls around? More often than not, winter will put a screeching halt on the progress of temperature-sensitive construction projects, and concrete is one such example.

When concrete is subjected to cold weather, the time is takes to adequately cure increases significantly. According to the Portland Cement Association (PCA), “compression strength of concrete cured at 50 degrees Fahrenheit is expected is expected to gain strength half as quickly as concrete cured at 73 degrees Fahrenheit,” (PCA). So how do you speed up the process?

Insulation or Heat Application

A long standing-tradition for protecting concrete against the cold is to apply insulation to the concrete after it is hard enough to maintain its form under the weight of an insulation blanket. While this helps to keep the concrete from dropping in temperature drastically, it does nothing to bring the cement to an ideal temperature. However, there is an option that does this very thing.

Along with insulation blankets, there are concrete curing blankets.Concrete curing blankets not only help to insulate concrete against the cold, but they also help to raise its temperature and that of the ambient air around it. Done right, concrete curing blankets can be dialed in to a certain temperature and left to do the job without monitoring.

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